News

Gears of War was developed from the ground up as a third-person shooter based around its duck and cover gameplay, but that doesn't mean that now the Gears universe is well established, the studio won't consider making an FPS set in that world, if fans demand it.

"I'm a big believer in never say never," executive producer Rod Fergusson told Official Xbox Magazine in the current issue, out this week. "It's all about what's interesting in the industry at the time and where fans want us to take it. We don't want to say never but it's not on the top of my mind either. We look at what makes sense and move in that direction."

Right now, all eyes are on Gears of War: Judgment, which sees Epic handing the series over to People Can Fly, the developer responsible for crazy shooter Bulletstorm. The change in developer has also led to a change in pace, thanks to a new AI system which changes the behaviour and location of enemies on each playthrough. "Our Gears game was heavily scripted - lots of cinematics, big storytelling stuff," Fergusson says. "People Can Fly is very much about things in level with a high replayability because of the Smart Spawn System, which brought to it by changing the AI. So yeah, PCF's campaign is a different campaign, but at its heart it's Kilo squad, and Lancers and taking cover - it's a Gears game."

Gears of War: Judgment is set for release on Xbox 360 in March 2013.